‘A WAR BUDGET’ Says British Labour

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 111, 23 April 1936, Page 5

‘A WAR BUDGET’ Says British Labour

HEAVY CRITICISM Result of Government’s Feeble Foreign Policy PILING-UP ARMAMENTS (By Telegraph—Press Assn., Copyright.) (Received 23,12.50 p.m.) LONDON, April 22. “It is a war Budget,’’ said Major Attlee, Labour leader, in a broadcast. “It is the natural result of the Government’s feeble and dishonest foreign policy, which has contributed to the world’s drift towards anareny and towards war. Everything is devoted to the piling-up of instruments of death. We can expect in future no advance of social legislation.

“The Labour Party,” he added, will steadily resist a course which will not bring peace but will inevitably lead to war.”

When the debate on the Budget resolution was resumed in the House of Commons (says a British Official Wireless message), the criticism of the Labour Opposition was voiced by Mr. F. W. Pethick Lawrence, who said he doubted whether in peace time any Budget statement so staggering in its future outlook had ever been presented. Additional taxes were being Imposed despite the natural increase in revenue of £30,000,000 in the past year and £20,000,000 in the Chancellor’s anticipation for the present year. The cost to be incurred for defence was not, in the opinion of the Labour Party, duo to circumstances over which the Government had no control, but was largely due to the wholly ineffective foreign policy the Government had pursued over a course of years. Mr, Pethick-Lawrenee warned the Chancellor that the grave departure from sound principles of finance foreshadowed in his admission that he would have to consider meeting the bill for the defence reorganisation byborrowing would not pass unchallenged if and when it should arise. Mr. H. S. Morrison said there had been little substantial criticism of the Budget proposals. Assuming that there was no war or other disaster, we could anticipate the maintenance of cheap money and a continuance of prosperity. The attacks on the Government’s foreign policy were really attacks aaginst the League. It was the problem of defence that gave the Budget its peculiar character. The sacrifices at present demanded were small. It had been said that the Labour Government had paid the American debt, which was not being paid now. It was forgotten that the Labour Government had received from our late Allies and the Dominions more than was paid out. The debate will be wound up to-mor-row night.